North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

At 10:52 AM 2/11/2003 -0500, you wrote:
> I got this question from a friend, any information out there or scionwood?
>
> Gordon, do you know any thing about a black walnut called Cannon Ball? Ty 
> Ty nursery in Georgia is advertising it. They say it is four times as 
> large as Thomas and cracks out four times the kernel as Thomas. I have 
> never seen any one advertising grafts or scion wood and Ty Ty only 
> advertises seedlings. I was planning on ordering one of their seedlings 
> but after reading  all the horror stories from different people who have 
> ordered from them on the internet I decided against it.

I've seen that one listed in the TyTy catalog, and I've ordered from TyTy 
on one or two occasions - only things I could not find anywhere else - and 
I'd never order from them again.   Nothing like receiving scrawny little 
plants, in full leaf, in mid-February here in KY.  It's a wonder anything 
survived, and I'm not totally convinced that I got the varieties I ordered 
- hell, they may just be seedlings.
No guarantee that a 'Cannon Ball' seedling would produce nuts anything like 
the original - and all I've seen are photos of the nut - still encased in 
its husk.  I've got a couple of native BWs that produce a HUGE nut - but 
it's mostly husk, and even though the nut itself is bigger than average, 
it's got a real thick shell, too.

I'm familiar with one named "Football II", which has ~30% kernel, 22 
nuts/lb; has no anthracnose resistance, but Larry Harper recommends it for 
mid- to southern areas, so I don't know how it'd do in MI.
Best BW for my area is Thomas Myers(aka Hay, I think) - 28 nuts/lb, 38% 
kernel, anthracnose-resistant. Really thin shell - I can crack 'em by 
stomping on 'em with my foot.  Finally got a 'take' of "Clermont" last year 
- it's got THE thinnest shell I've ever seen on a BW - I think Nebraska NGA 
offers it - may be listed as 'Yates Clermont'.
I looked at Bud Luers' list, and he doesn't have 'Cannon Ball' in his 
collection.

Larry offers a pretty good selection of BW scionwood - about 15 varieties, 
from his Harper Hill Farm, 908 Danforth Dr., Columbia, MO 65201, 
573-442-5326, email: lharper@tranquility.net

I'll be cutting scions sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.  Anything you need?
I've got a really good red mulberry(M.rubra) that you might be interested 
in. Big berries, heavy producer, good taste.

I was out looking at last year's grafts the other day - think I got one 
surviving "King of the Road', but don't believe I got any takes of 
"Jarrett", from the scions you sent last year.  I had several pecan/hickory 
grafts that took, leafed out, but then everything - including the 
rootstock, died back to the root collar.  Don't know what happened there.

Lucky